High School Winter 2017 Culture An Introduction to Weird Before we actually read about and discuss the topic of culture please attempt to come up with a definition for it in your own words ID: 830257
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Slide1
Ch. 3: Culture
Haddam-Killingworth
High School
Winter
2017
Slide2Culture: An Introduction to Weird
Before we actually read about and discuss the topic of
culture
, please attempt to come up with a definition for it, in your own words.
Why
study culture?
Slide3Assessment of American Culture
“Girls don’t poop or fart.”
What is
your
assessment of American culture?
How does it say something
systemic
about America?
Slide4What is Culture?
The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life.
Includes:
what we think
,
how we act
, and
what we own
.
Nonmaterial culture
:
Our
IDEAS
Material culture
:
Our
STUFF
Name some examples of OUR nonmaterial and material culture.
Slide5Culture ≠ Human Nature
Why are culture and human nature NOT the same?
Examples of cultural tendencies:
Yanomamö
of Brazil
= think aggression is natural
Semai
of Malaysia
= live peacefully
Americans
= value hard work and individualism
Japanese
= value hard work and collectivism
Slide6Maasai Woman
What makes the actions of this
Maasai
woman a function of culture and not of human nature?
Could “Human Nature” be affecting her too, though?
Slide7Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
Main Groups
:
Come up with a strategy to read Horace Miner’s piece. You must do the following as you read:
Underline/Highlight/annotate
Frequently check in to discuss the reading
Respond to three critical thinking questions in complete, thoughtful, and well-supported sentences
Sub Groups
:
Analyze the document from each of the main theoretical perspectives. Use evidence to explain how each perspective might view the major points of the article.
Independent
:
Respond to the final reflection question on the value of cultural examination, synthesizing content from the entire activity. Bring it all together.
Slide8Culture Game!
There are two sides in this game, and you are both
competing against each other
.
The game is complicated, so you must do the following, to ensure that you understand it:
Independently:
Quietly review the rules of the game by examining your “team sheet.”
Summarize the game in
your own words
.
Create a list of
two (2)
questions that you still have about the game.
Groups: Discuss these questions (while whispering) with your fellow group members. Together, create a
strategy
for the game.
It is important that you do not share your understandings of the game with the other team because you are trying to
beat
them. If they are confused, it will help
you
.
Slide9Culture Shock Game: Reflection
After thoughtfully responding to the questions, what have you gleaned from this exercise?
Slide10Confronting the Yanomamö
:
Culture Shock
Read the passage adapted from the work of the famous anthropologist,
Napoleon
Chagnon
,
and thoughtfully respond to the questions that follow.
Slide114.5 BYA:
Formation of
Planet
3.5 BYA:
Life Appears on Earth
1.5 BYA:
Dinosaurs Roam
Earth
65 MYA:
Dinosaurs Extinct; Primates Appear
12 MYA
:
Humans develop separately from Apes
3 MYA
:
Distant humans climbed down out of trees
250,000 YA:
Homo Sapiens
emerged (“thinking person”)
40,000 YA:
Humans look basically as they do today
12,000 YA:
Neolithic Revolution
Timeline of Earth & Humanity
YA =
Years Ago
MYA =
Millions of Years Ago
BYA =
Billions of Years Ago
Culture Develops
Slide12The Elements of Culture: Symbols
Some symbols:
Red light
Stop!
Thumbs up
Positive, go-ahead, okayMiddle fingerYou know what it means…
Winking
H
eyo
!!
Get at me!
Holla
at
ya boy!Name at least one symbol that you know because of our culture.
Slide13Drawing “Pop” Symbols ;-)
Draw emoticons,
emojis
, text abbreviations, or popular memes on my white board.
What’s significant about all of this?
Emotions +
Icons =
Emoticons
Slide14#hashtag
Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake are taken over by the hashtag in this video.
What does the
hashtag
symbolize?
Slide15What does this flag represent?
Slide16Language: A system of Symbols
Slide17“Symbol: The Basic Element of Culture”
Please read the article titled, “
Symbol
: The Basic Element of
Culture
,” by Leslie A. White.
As you read:
Highlight
themes
that we’ve already discussed in class
Underline
words or phrases that you do not understand
Annotate to make critical comments in the margins
Then:
Respond thoughtfully to the questions on the sheet provided. Be prepared to discuss your findings.
Slide18Values & Beliefs
Values
Cultural standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful.
G
uidelines for social living.
Beliefs
S
tatements that people make based on their values.
Example
:
Because most U.S. adults share the
value
of providing equal opportunities for all, they believe
that a qualified woman could serve as president of the U.S.
Slide19Your Culture, Your Values
Get into your
discussion groups
and create a list of
TEN (10)
essential values of American culture. Be prepared to discuss and explain them.
Slide20Robin Williams’s Ten U.S. Cultural Values (1970)
Equal opportunity
Achievement & Success
Material Comfort
Activity & Work
Practicality & Efficiency
Progress
Science
Democracy & free enterprise
Freedom
Racism & group superiority
Think about the games you played when you were growing up, like Capture the Flag, or board games, like Monopoly.
What cultural values do the games teach?
How do they differ from the values taught by today’s video games?
Slide21Cultural Values of Selected Countries
Slide22Norms / Mores / Folkways
Norms
Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.
Proscriptive
: what we should NOT do
Prescriptive
: what we should do
Mores
Norms
that are widely observed and have great moral significance.
Right vs. Wrong
Folkways
Norms for routine or casual interaction.
Appropriate greetings
Right vs. Rude
Slide23Norm Violation Project
Basic Rule of thumb:
The greatest project you’ve ever been a part of.
Slide24Decoding Conversation: Symbols & Norms
Please read/underline/annotate the brief opinion piece from an American woman living in France with her British husband and three kids.
Then, carefully and thoughtfully respond to the question at the bottom of the document.
Slide25Social Control & the “Ideal”
Attempts by society to regulate people’s thoughts and behavior
Our knowledge of social control can lead to
shame
and
guilt
when we break the “rules”
Differences between
Ideal
and
Real
culture?
Slide26Culture Types
Multicultural vs.
monocultural
High culture
Usually associated with art forms like classical literature, music, dance, and painting (patterns of the
elite)
Why do we praise high culture? Is it because it’s better?
Popular culture
Cultural patterns that are societally
widespread
Subcultures
Segments of the population that are set apart
Subcultures often clash
Slide27Counterculture
A cultural pattern that strongly opposes those widely accepted within a society.
What’s the
appeal
of a counterculture?
Drawbacks
?
Slide28High School
Ten Things I Hate About You (1999)
The O.C. (2003)
Mean Girls (2004)
How is high school like a “culture” with various subcultures?
Slide29What do our feelings about this map suggest about our culture?
Ethnocentrism
= judging another culture by the standards of one’s own
Multiculturalism
= recognizes diversity and equality of all cultural traditions
Slide30Multiculturalism vs. Ethnocentrism
English is not the
official language
of the United States. Should it be?
Slide31Make a list of ten (10) things that you do in your life that are either multicultural
or
ethnocentric
.
Daily Life:
An Honest Appraisal of Cultural Influence
Multicultural (10)
Ethnocentric (10)
What major conclusions can be drawn from this chart?
Slide32Multiculturalism: Big Paper
Use the “
Big Paper – Silent Conversation
” technique.
Get in pairs.
Have a silent “discussion” with each other
. It can have anything to do with the topic of
Multiculturalism.
Eventually, join
other pairs, and
respond to their
questions
& comments (without
talking).
After
:
return
to your original group/pair and verbally discuss your findings.
Slide33Cultural Change
What does this graph suggest about our changing society? (Particularly about college-aged people)
What does it say about cultural change in general?
Slide34Causes of Cultural Change
What things might cause cultural change?
Think-Pair-Share
Invention
Making new cultural elements
Discovery
Recognizing what was already in existence and adjusting to it
Diffusion
The spread of cultural traits from one society to another
Faster than ever before =
GLOBALIZATION
Slide35Globalization!
Slide36Globalization: Good, Bad, or Neutral?
International trade
Global communications have improved (satellites, internet)
Better understanding of other peoples
Keeps costs down via capitalism
Global migration
Global alliances and initiatives
Uneven access to process of globalization (urban vs. rural; rich vs. poor
)
Dilution of cultures; dominance of more powerful ones
Good
Bad
Neutral
Respond to the questions that follow…
Slide37Identify all the Global Connections
As I wake
up to my alarm,
I
reluctantly push away the
sheets and blankets, get out of bed and put on my slippers. I go to the bathroom where I take a peacefully thoughtless and hot shower. Returning
to my bedroom,
I put
on my clothes and shoes for
school. For five minutes, I check my phone for messages and scan through my Twitter and Instagram feeds. Eventually, I
look out the window to check the
weather
– cold and rainy – and decide that
I’ll need a jacket today. Downstairs in the kitchen, I eat a bowl of cereal and drink a hot cup of coffee while watching CNN. Realizing that I’m running late, I rush upstairs to brush my
teeth. Downstairs again, I pull on my jacket and hat, pick up my books and head out the door to the bus stop.
Make a list of all the ways that globalization has affected this scenario.
Slide38Culture: Structural-functional
Explains
culture
as a strategy for meeting human needs
Ex: Amish
Cultural universals: traits that are part of every known culture
Family: serves to control sexual reproduction and oversee the care of children
Funeral rites: every community must deal with death
What are the strengths of such an approach? Weaknesses?
Slide39Culture: Social-Conflict
Any cultural trait benefits some members of society
at the expense
of others
Karl Marx
and the philosophy of materialism
with
The Communist Manifesto
(1848) &
Das
Kapital
(1867)Material production benefits the business elitesEventually people realize the inequality, and social change occursExamples?
What are the strengths of such an approach? Weaknesses?
Slide40Culture: Sociobiology
A theoretical approach that explores ways in which
human biology
affects how we create culture
Charles Darwin’s
On the Origin of Species (1859)Natural selection, evolutionCultural realities are tied to biology: men are more biologically likely to desire sex with a variety of partners
What
are the strengths of such an approach?
Weaknesses
?
Slide41“India’s Sacred Cow”
Using
the
article by Marvin Harris, explain
how each of the
schools of thought described before (Structural-functional,
Social-conflict
, and
Sociobiology
) would
view the Indian cultural fixation on the sanctity of the cow.
Slide42Closure: Culture
After studying culture for a while now, how has your understanding of it changed?
Cite two (2) things that either surprised you or altered your perception of culture.